Use of Tapentadol for Inhibiting and/or Treating Depression and Anxiety

Abstract

The use of tapentadol (i) in the treatment of pain in a subject suffering from depression and/or from anxiety, and/or (ii) in the treatment or the inhibition of depression or anxiety.

1 . A method of treating pain in a subject, said method comprising administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of tapentadol as the only pharmacologically active ingredient, wherein the subject suffers from depression and/or anxiety. 
     
     
         2 . (canceled) 
     
     
         3 . (canceled) 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the tapentadol is administered orally. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the tapentadol is administered once daily or twice daily. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the tapentadol is administered at a daily dose within the range of from 25 to 600 mg. 
     
     
         7 . The method of treating pain according to  claim 1 , wherein the pain is moderate or severe. 
     
     
         8 . The method of treating pain according to  claim 1 , wherein the pain is chronic pain. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 8 , wherein the chronic pain is pain selected from the group consisting of cancer pain, chemotherapy-induced pain, upper back pain, low back pain, inflammatory pain including pain associated with rheumatic diseases, arthritic pain, ankylosing spondylitis, myofascial pain, pain associated with musculo-skeletal disorders, muscle pain, skeletal pain, joint pain, chronic pain associated with fibromyalgia, pain from strains or sprains, persistent post-operative pain, persistent posttraumatic pain, renal colic, irritable bowel syndrome-related pain, gastrointestinal pain, pelvic pain, abdominal pain, ischemic pain, angina pain, pain associated with claudication, pain accompanying myocardial infarction, vascular pain, central nervous system trauma, facial pain, migraine-related pain, headache-related pain, orofacial pain, persistent pain deriving from damaged or inflamed somatic tissue, and combinations of two or more of the foregoing. 
     
     
         10 . The method of treating pain according to  claim 1 , wherein the pain is selected from the group consisting of neuropathic pain, nociceptive pain, psychogenic pain, phantom pain and combinations of two or more of the foregoing. 
     
     
         11 . The method of treating pain according to  claim 1 , wherein the pain is neuropathic pain. 
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the neuropathic pain is selected from the group consisting of diabetic neuralgia, monoradiculopathies, trigeminal neuralgia, post-herpetic neuralgia, persistent postoperative or posttraumatic pain, hyperalgia, allodynia, fibromyalgia, complex regional pain syndrome, pain associated with multiple sclerosis, AIDS-related neuropathy, thalamic pain, paraplegic pain caused by myelopathy, anesthesia dolorosa, low back pain, reflex sympathetic dystrophy/causalgia, cancer pain, chemotherapy-induced pain, post-thoracotomy pain, entrapment neuropathy, and peripheral neuropathy. 
     
     
         13 - 15 . (canceled) 
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the tapentadol is used for
 a) the treatment of pain in the subject suffering from depression or from anxiety;   e) the treatment of pain and the simultaneous treatment of depression or anxiety; or   f) the treatment of pain and simultaneous inhibition of depression or anxiety.